STEWARTVILLE — Each time Spencer Nagel delivered a huge kill on Wednesday night, one of her friends in the Stewartville High School student section held up a poster that read:

“Don’t throw a fit when #7 goes to hit”

The clever sign was dedicated to Nagel, a junior outside hitter and No. 7 on Stewartville’s roster.

Nagel finished with 10 kills, eight digs and a service ace to help the No. 2-seeded Tigers defeat rival No. 3 seed Kasson-Mantorville 25-22, 23-25, 25-13, 25-17 in the Section 1, Class 3A semifinals on Wednesday at Stewartville High School.

“I have such amazing friends,” Nagel said. “All of them support me. They always come with signs and T-shirts, all the fun things. I couldn't be more grateful for my friends and family.”

Nagel, the 5-foot-10 captain for Stewartville, has been on varsity for the Tigers since the eighth grade. A year into her varsity tenure, the program went through a coaching change as Hall of Famer John Dzubay retired after 47 years and 1,039 career wins.

Sammy Pedersen, a Wisconsin native, is in his third season as the Tigers’ head coach. Under his direction, the Tigers have earned their third consecutive section championship appearance.

“Kasson’s really good,” Pedersen said. “And beating a really good team three times (in one season) is really hard. I just think as a group we knew that we were going to have to work hard the whole time, all season, just losing so many kids that we did last year. So our girls have done a really good job of embracing setbacks or things that challenge us to use them as things that are going to help us be better.”

Nagel leads the Tigers in kills and aces, and is third in digs. As one of just two seniors on their roster, she is a crucial piece for Stewartville.

In the midst of her fourth varsity season, Nagel also plays club volleyball. She started in elementary school and played last season for M1 Volleyball out of Bloomington, Minn. She plans to return to Southern Minnesota Volleyball (SMV) this upcoming club season.

One of the two seniors on Stewartville’s team is libero Reagan Mittelstadt, who recorded 30 digs in the win. Nagel and Mittelstadt were on the same M1 team last season.

“I've been playing alongside Reagan for like nine months now,” Nagel said. “We definitely have a very good serve receive connection, and just on the court, we don't have a problem like talking to each other at all times, and we're super comfortable.”

Nagel is a second-generation volleyball player, following in the footsteps of her mom who played for Dover-Eyota.

The Eagles are having one of their best seasons in program history as the No. 1 seed in Section 1, Class 2A. They are set to play No. 4 Cannon Falls in the section semifinals at 6 p.m. on Thursday at Mayo Civic Center.

“I think she does find it pretty cool,” Nagel said when asked if her mom is enjoying D-E’s own playoff run. “They have had a lot of success, and it's been really cool to watch.”

Nagel had nothing but positive things to say about her head coach after the team’s semifinal victory.

“Having Sammy alongside me at all times is definitely just so amazing,” Nagel said. “He's such a great coach. He's easy to talk to. He's always willing to give me feedback, and he's just overall a super great coach. And we just have a really good connection.”

Pedersen, who is a dad to two young children, has shared his coaching successes with his family. His youngest, a daughter, was born one day before Stewartville’s section final match in 2024.

“My son, he's old enough to kind of know what's going on,” Pedersen said. “Now he's like, ‘we need to win our game so we can go stay at the hotel.’ So he wants to go to state just as bad as the girls do. … To have some of the girls the last three years and my kids, they kind of all grow up and get to experience the same things. It's bigger than volleyball, and it's really cool.

On Wednesday, the Tigers took set one, but the KoMets stormed back in set two to tie the match. It was back-and-forth the rest of the way, but the third set belonged to Stewartville. The Tigers built a 20-12 lead before finishing the job. KM trailed 14-12 in set four before the Tigers ran away with the victory.

Sophomore setter Clara Theobald tallied 20 assists and six digs for the Tigers. Theobald has had to adapt this season, switching from a 6-2 to a 5-1 offense, but she has managed well.

“It's a big deal,” Theobald said of the program’s third straight section final appearance. “We kind of had a rut those like four or five years ago where we didn't go. … People know that we're coming back, and we're always going to play competitively. Being able to play in these big competitive environments, it's fun, and I'm so grateful for that opportunity.”

Stewartville will face top-seeded Northfield in the Section 1-3A championship match at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Mayo Civic Center in Rochester. The Tigers and the Raiders met in the section final last season. Stewartville secured the victory in four sets to advance to the program's 26th state tournament.

The Tigers (23-6) are now seeking trip No. 27 and their third consecutive state berth. They defeated K-M twice during the regular season, 2-1 during a weekend tournament in Burnsville and 3-2 in a five-set marathon in Stewartville on Sept. 29.

“It’s just amazing,” Nagel said. “I don't take any of this stuff for granted. … You have to definitely adapt to it and be ready to play and take the pressure well. But something that I've learned over being here for quite a few years, like pressure is a privilege, and I always tell my team that. I always have that in the back of my mind, and it just helps me play.”

The KoMets end their season 19-7 overall. Senior middle/outside hitter Gabriella Moritz led K-M with 16 kills while senior setter Eleanor Gore dished out 39 assists.

Stewartville 3, Kasson-Mantorville 1
K-M#22#25#13#17#
Stewartville#25#23#25#25#
Stewartville: Clara Theobald 2 kills, 20 assists, 6 digs, 1 ace; Leah Hebl 5 aces, 2 digs; Spencer Nagel 10 kills, 8 digs, 1 ace; Cora Johnson 7 kills, 1 dig; Elsie Eckerman 9 kills, 1 dig, 2 blocks; Sylvia Heusinkvelt 8 kills, 2 aces, 15 digs; Reagan Mittelstadt 3 aces, 2 assists, 30 digs; Clara Post 10 kills, 1 block; Brystol Schmidt 12 digs, 1 ace.
Kasson-Mantorville: Taya Threinen 5 digs; Gabriella Moritz 16 kills, 4 blocks; Addisyn Coker 5 kills, 2 blocks; Madelaine Gore 6 kills, 7 digs; Eleanor Gore 39 assists, 2 kills, 14 digs; Alexie Awe 8 kills, 13 digs; Grace Roethler 7 digs; Sydney Knudson 6 kills, 12 digs.